'Steamin' Niemann' looks to increase his role in Year 2 with Kansas City

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – A year ago Ben Niemann simply hoped to prove his mettle as a professional football player, so the idea of playing with NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and coming up one play short of the Super Bowl couldn’t have been further from his mind.

“[I was] doing every little thing I could to make the roster just because I was undrafted, and then the emotions of making [the team], it was pretty exciting,” Niemann said as he prepares for his second NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs. “Then having such a memorable season, one of the best seasons in Chiefs’ history, it was a good experience.”

Niemann arrived at training camp this season with a different goal than a year ago. Last season, he hoped to simply earn a job. Now, he strives to take the next step by finding an enlarged role on the team’s revamped defense.

[Charlie Neibergall]

Nicknamed “Steamin’ Niemann” by his teammates, the Sycamore native showed plenty of promise during his rookie campaign. He won his roster spot thanks to a sterling training camp, leading the team with 17 tackles during the preseason. He also returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons.

Even during his rookie season, head coach Andy Reid said Niemann’s high football-IQ made him stand out.

“Smart kid,” Reid said. “Coach’s kid, he kind of gets it, what’s going on around him, and it shows.”

Niemann played sparingly on defense last season. He took only 64 snaps on defense, with nearly half coming during a Week 10 start filling for fellow Iowa Hawkeye linebacker Anthony Hitchens. He did find a home, however, on the club’s special teams unit as a four-phase player on kick and punt units, ranking fourth on the club with 259 special teams snaps last season.

[John Amis]

“I know for me personally, I know a big role of mine is special teams, so just trying to do whatever I can to make an impact on the game there,” Niemann said.

During the offseason, Niemann sought to add strength and bulk to his 6-foot-2, 235-pound frame. He went back to Iowa to work with renowned Hawkeyes’ strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle.

Teammate Reggie Ragland said the work Niemann did in both the weightroom and the playbook have paid off.

“Last year, he was a little smaller; this year he’s bigger,” Ragland said. “But Ben has always been a very smart football player. You’re out there watching him, you’re going to see him put everybody in the right position, and then get himself in position, too.”

Iowa City has became Niemann’s new home away from home. His brother, Nick, will be a junior linebacker at Iowa this fall, and his father, Jay, joined the Hawkeyes this spring as defensive line coach and assistant recruiting coordinator. Ben helped his parents move into their new home before training camp started in July.

[Ed Zurga]

“They’re going to be close,” so it will be easy for his mom to get to his games and his dad will be able to make them when Iowa has a bye week, Niemann said.

Niemann also took the time back in Iowa to reconnect with his teammates as they pursued their own NFL dreams.

“I didn’t redshirt, and all the guys in my class that did were getting ready for pro day,” Niemann said. “So I actually moved back into the house I lived in in college with my teammates because they had an open room there, so it was kind of just like I fit right back in.”

[Matt Derrick]

His former teammates gleaned as much information as they could from the NFL player.

“Anything I could help them out with I did,” Niemann said. “Coaches, scouts coming in for interview process type of things, giving them a heads up how that goes and just their pro day in general. I helped out in whatever way I could for them.”

Returning to the Chiefs for training camp, Niemann finds football both new and familiar at the same time. The Chiefs rebuilt their defense during the offseason, abandoning the 3-4 scheme of former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton. New coordinator Steve Spagnuolo deploys a 4-3 front more similar to the concept Niemann played in college.

[Matt Derrick]

“It has a more familiar feel to it for sure,” Niemann said. “Still schematically a little bit different, but there is some similarities compared to the 3-4. Last year was totally new to me, I had never played in that before.”

It’s also his second year playing at inside linebacker, where he currently backs up Ragland.

“Last year coming in to this time, I had never played inside linebacker,” Niemann explained. “In college I was an outside linebacker. So I feel a lot more comfortable. Now it’s a new defense, so similar learning and growing to do. In terms of my experience and knowledge inside the box, it’s definitely gone up.”

[Matt Derrick]

Ragland sees Niemann continually growing into his own on the field.

“Ben’s a great player, and even better person off the field, so I’m happy for him,” Ragland said. “He’s getting better, he’s pushing me, he’s pushing everybody out there.”

He said Spagnuolo has been a positive change for the defense, along with new linebackers coach Matt House.

“[Spagnuolo’s] got a lot of energy;he’s a really good teacher,” Niemann said. “Same with Coach House in the linebacker room, very detail oriented, everybody’s on the same page at all times. Everybody’s got to know their job, execute, limit the mental errors, all that stuff, and just fly to the football, so it’s been fun.”

[Charlie Riedel]

The Chiefs also added new faces to the defense in the offseason, signing big-name free agents in defensive end Frank Clark and safety Tyrann Mathieu.

“It’s been a positive change, all those guys,” Niemann said. “They’re all bought in and bring a lot of energy. Frank and Tyrann are good leaders. We have Damien [Wilson] in the linebacker room, as well. We have a lot of guys, and they have all came in and jelled and meshed. It’s a good group, so I’m excited.

Niemann certainly is having fun in the NFL, but he doesn’t take for granted how special last season proved to be for himself and for the Chiefs. Yet it also left him hungry for more.

“There’s a lot of guys that will play seven-, eight-year careers and never have that opportunity to play in a game like that,” Niemann said of the AFC Championship game loss to New England. “Now we’re trying to take that next step, get back there and win that game this time.”